All Scholars
WAGENER, Anthony Pelzer
- Date of Birth: May 27, 1887
- Born City: Charleston
- Born State/Country: SC
- Parents: Emil Aristide & Lillie Eva Pelzer W.
- Date of Death: January 31, 1972
- Death City: Newport News
- Death State/Country: VA
- Married: Frances Rebecca Keister, 16 Aug. 1916.
- Education:
A.B. Coll. of Charleston, 1906; Ph.D. Johns Hopkins, 1910; study at ASCSR, 1910-1.
- Dissertation:
"Popular Associations of Right and Left in Roman Literature" (Johns Hopkins, 1910); printed (Baltimore, 1912).
- Professional Experience:
Instr. Lat. & Gk. Williams Coll., 1912-3; actng. prof. Lat. & Gk. Coll. of Charleston, 1913-4; prof. Lat. Roanoke Coll., 1914-9; prof. Lat. & Gk., 1919-26; dir. summer & ext. courses, 1922-6; prof. Lat. West Virginia U., 1926-8; prof. Lat. & Gk., 1928-9; prof. anc. langs. & head dept. Coll. William & Mary, 1929-58; Chancellor prof. anc. langs., 1955-8; John Hay Whitney Found, sch., vis. prof. Austin Coll. (Sherman, TX), 1958-9; prof. Lat. U. Virginia summ. sch. 1926-7, 1929; pres. CAMWS, 1948-9.
- Publications:
"Roman Remains in the Town and Territory of Velletri," AJA 17 (1913) 399-428; "The Visit of Aeneas to the Lower World" (English dramatization of Aeneid VI) (Williamsburg, 1930); "Stylistic Qualities of the Apostrophe to Nature as a Dramatic Device," TAPA 62 (1931) 78-100; "On Putting the Best Foot Forward," TAPA 66 (1935) 73-91; "Reflections of Personal Experience in Cicero's Ethical Doctrine," CJ 31 (1935-6) 359-70; "The Function of Latin in a Socialized Curriculum," Education 57 (Apr. 1937) 461-72; Latin and the Romans, with Thornton Jenkins, Book I (Boston, 1941), Book II (Boston, 1942); Teacher's Manual: Learning Through Latin (Boston, 1943); Course of Study in Latin for the High Schools of Virginia (ed.) (Richmond, 1945); The Heritage of European Literature, with E. H. Weatherly, E. H. Zeydel, and A. Yarmolinsky (Boston, 1948); "The Adaptation of the Ancient Philosophy of Medicine to the New World" (a translation from the Latin of an oration delivered by Jean-Francois Coste at the College of William and Mary on 12 June 1782), Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 7 (1952) 10-67; "Christianity and the Oriental Cults," CO 37 (1959-60) 61-63,79-81.
- Notes:
A. P. Wagener was professor of ancient languages and head of the department of ancient languages at the College of William and Mary in Virginia for nearly 30 years. During this time he made a remarkable contribution to the advancement of Latin pedagogy and the study of Latin in the secondary schools of the state and nation. In 1936, he established a summer institute for the refreshment and enrichment of Latin teachers. This institute-perhaps the first of its kind to be conducted in the United States—continued for some 20 years and eventually drew participants from all parts of the country. Wagener also was consultant and editor for the Virginia State Board of Education of the first printed description of a Latin curriculum for the high schools (Course of Study in Latin). He was a founder of the Latin Tournament of Virginia, an annual competition involving the best Latin students of public and private schools. With Thornton Jenkins he wrote two widely used Latin textbooks, Latin and the Romans, Books I and II.He bore always the stamp of the civility and culture associated with his native Charleston, SC. His professors at Johns Hopkins included his fellow Charlestonian Basil Gildersleeve, David Robinson, Maurice Bloom-field, Harry Wilson, Wilfred Mustard, C. W. E. Miller, and Kirby Flower Smith, who suggested to him his dissertation. One result of this study was the publication of a description of the Roman remains at and around the town of Velletri.He was active in numerous organizations, both classical and non-classical. Besides membership in Phi Beta Kappa, he held membership in Omicron Delta Kappa, Scabbard and Blade, and the Cosmos Club of Washington, D.C
- Sources:
WhAm 5:749.
- Author: Julian Ward Jones, Jr.
